How Rural America is Grading Biden's First Weeks

by Tessa Gould


The One Country Project recently released the first of three reports on President Biden’s first 100 days in office and how his policies are being viewed by rural Americans. The report analyzed publicly available social media conversations in rural communities of seven different states. This critical information provides insight into how President Biden’s initial weeks are being perceived in rural states, what issues are front of mind, and whether rural Americans believe his first actions are having a positive impact or are failing to deliver.

President Biden’s rural reaction can be described as “mixed.” He made many promises during his campaign, and while rural Americans are worried about a lot of topics, COVID-19 and employment/jobs take center stage. There was an overwhelmingly positive response on anything to do with President Biden’s pandemic relief legislation, stimulus checks, and raising the minimum wage. The president’s actions in support of COVID-19 prevention and the roll-out of the vaccine had positive reactions. He was lauded for having empathy, determination, and showing strong leadership to combat the disease. Rural Americans are pleased to see a plan for fighting this pandemic – something the Trump administration refused to provide.

These findings are juxtaposed with the negative responses to President Biden’s policy on job growth. Cutting projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, which provided for good paying jobs in the midst of record unemployment, has sparked politically charged conversations where Biden is perceived as valuing ideology above American jobs. Without providing a plan for how Keystone XL pipeline workers could find alternative employment, President Biden left himself open to the criticism that he is playing politics and not taking a balanced approach to battling the climate crisis. Rural Americans are reeling from job loss caused by shrinking communities and the COVID-19 pandemic. President Biden will need to show that he is acting on increasing good paying jobs in rural communities.

The sentiment surrounding immigration was extremely negative. President Biden will need to work in a bipartisan way to address how the nation perceives immigration reform and refugee resettlement. Trump used his platform to vilify immigrant children and communities during his four years in office. It will take a concerted effort to depoliticize this issue, craft a bipartisan bill providing for meaningful immigration reforms, and gather the requisite 60-vote Senate coalition to pass it through Congress.

Read more: https://ndxplains.com/2021/03/05/gould-how-rural-america-is-grading-bidens-first-weeks/

Tessa Gould
Executive Director at One Country Project
Tessa Gould grew up in Jamestown, ND and attended college there. Rumor is that’s where her love of the color orange began. She has served four Members of Congress, two U.S. Senators and worked on countless campaigns in flyover country. Her professional work has focused on rural economies, health care delivery and tribal sovereignty. After serving as Senator Heidi Heitkamp’s Chief of Staff, she has joined her One Country Project as Executive Director. She is also a partner at Forbes Tate Partners in Washington DC. where she lives with her two bulldogs, Finley and Sully and attends a lot of Nationals games while wearing a Yankees hat.